Missouri Pacific caboose 13083 arrived at TTM completely burnt up. It is most likely that drifters were using it after MOPAC retired it from service and a fire they lit to keep warm went out of control. All its original interior appointments were destroyed beyond repair. Fortunately, it was still structurally and mechanically sound. TTM volunteers acquired and refurbished it into a passenger car with extra windows. It is our most frequently used caboose.

Missouri Pacific caboose 13083 burnt up, but mechanically sound.

Missouri Pacific caboose 13083 following of its frequently needed repaints.

Former MOPAC caboose 13083 is one on the last cabooses ever built. It dates from the 1980's, not long before the use of cabooses was discontinued. It has a bay window style. When we got the caboose, around 1990, it was a burnt out hulk. It has undergone a radical transformation to passenger service, with both interior and exterior seating.

Missouri Pacific caboose 13083 in service on the Longhorn & Western railroad at the Texas Transportation Museum

Two youngsters enjoying the ride in Missouri Pacific caboose 13083

Missouri Pacific caboose 13083 on the L&W runaround track

Former chairman Larry Maxwell on the Missouri Pacific caboose 13083

This is, as of 2002, our most frequently used caboose. Work to upgrade the old MOPAC transfer caboose is continuing. Getting this one back into use was one of the best pieces of work ever accomplished by the museum. Not only were its old interior fitting, including a toilet, removed, a job involving much use of steel cutting torches, but its windows were enlarged as well. The interior was re-paneled to make the caboose attractive inside and out. Interior and exterior seats were custom built, as were the doors.

Missouri Pacific caboose 13083 at the end of the Longhorn & Western RR tracks at the Texas Transportation Museum in San Antonio

As you can see, every once in a while even a rail road with the enviable safety record of the Longhorn & Western will have a mishap or two. Fortunately, at the very low speed allowed on our line, any passengers would have been the last to know the caboose had derailed. Small accidents like this can have beneficial results, and we beefed up our track inspections from once a month to every two weeks. Track work is an ongoing chore for all railroads, not just voluntary ones like ours.

Repainting Missouri Pacific caboose 13083 in 2008

Missouri Pacific caboose 13083.

Missouri Pacific caboose 13083.

TTM volunteer Leo Bonin on the Missouri Pacific caboose 13083

TTM caboose 13083 on a rainy day, March 2014

Maintaining a caboose's shiny red appearance takes a lot of work! This caboose must be repainted about every three years despite the fact that we use the longest lasting, and most expensive, red paint on the market! But its worth the effort, and after five go rounds, we're getting quite good at it. We have also recently upgraded its seats and interior, with fresh lumber and paint.